Toyota Prius - Special Service Campaign (Steering Shaft Assembly Issue)

only if they change steering wheel center position.
turns out, DH actually did leave our steering wheel off-center. we got caught in a downpour just as he was finishing up, we ran to the house and didn't test drive it afterward.

but apparently you can straighten out the steering wheel by adjusting the new part- he's going to do it tonight.

 

Wow, very subtle difference between old and new. I wish I'd caught
this thread earlier or I would have asked if y'all could grab a few
measurements. Maybe on the next one that comes in?
.
My first inclination here, when the locals finally start getting the
parts in, is to go get the new shaft and do the swap myself. I
wonder if they'll even consider that.
.
Oh, what does the T-shirt say? Anything ending in "a nut" has got
to be good...
.
_H*

 

i'll see if i can get him to measure the difference. i think for liability reasons they probably won't let you do the job- since it's a recall and all. plus, they can't close the repair order until they have the old part back. but hey you can always try.

the t-shirt says "it's all fun and games until someone loses a nut" and has a picture of 2 squirrels on a branch, one of them dropping an acorn

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brandon @ Jun 13 2006, 12:23 PM) [snapback]270555[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, that's what I mean. Something, for instance, that gives you an idea of whether you're going to get that fabled letter or not. Sheesh

 

I see. So if you get the letter, you know you're affected, but if you don't, then you want to know if you ever will receive the letter. In other words, there's nothing to tell you your Prius is not affected by the recall, other than the lack of evidence saying it is.

Wow, I made that confusing.

 

Hello all!

I actually got a phone call from my local Toyota dealer about the recall yesterday,
and was able to take it in to be checked today. It took a couple of hours to check, and happily
my car was not effected. However I was told if I had been part of the recall they would have
had to order the part (would take about 3 days) and I would have had to come back to have it installed...which would have taken approximately another 4 hours. So perhaps others will get phone calls too? I also wanted to share my experience for others that have to go through it too. Hopefully it's helpful.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CrazyGirrl @ Jun 14 2006, 06:58 PM) [snapback]271413[/snapback]</div>

All they need to do is check your VIN in the database - so what exactly did the check that took two hours?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TMS USA @ Jun 9 2006, 03:39 PM) [snapback]268763[/snapback]</div>

I have received the official letter from Toyota HQ which states the replacement of the intermediate steering shaft assembly and inspection of other related parts. However, after calling one local Toyota dealership and going personally to a second local Toyota dealership, each service person is telling me that their instructions are to inspect only and possibly torque a retaining bolt. Early in the campaign, I emailed asktoyota.com and privided my VIN number. The response from asktoyota.com was that according to my VIN number, my Prius is involved in the SSC.

I am a little confused. If my Prius is involved in the SSC, it seems that I should have the intermediate shaft assembly #2 replaced. Is this correct?

Thanks for your help.

 

The SSC description is pretty straightforward about what needs to be done. Make sure they're looking at the right campaign - SSC 60C for the Prius. It's also possible the specific people you're talking to at the dealerships may not have seen this new information yet.

 

there's a part that gets replaced... see the pictures i posted earlier in the thread.

 

Attached are the relevant documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They include:

1. The letter from Toyota to NHTSA identifying the problem (2 pages)
   [attachmentid=3803]
2. The Defect Information Report outlining the chronology and investigation undertaken by Toyota (4 pages)
   [attachmentid=3804]
3. The letter sent to dealers dated May 30 including a Q&A. Note that all affected vehicles will require replacing the "Steering Intermediate Shaft." (2 pages)
   [attachmentid=3805]

I found this material by going to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation web site and searching for recalls by vehicle, year (2004 in may case), make (Toyota), model (Prius) and type (Passenger Car). You can specify the component or look at all the recalls for the Prius.

You then do a "document search" to get to the PDF files that I attached to this message.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/

I could not attach the detailed notes (42 pages) sent to dealers to this message because of its size. It contains instructions for performing the Special Service Campaign (SSC) 60C Safety Recall. This document includes a table with the VINs of the approximately 170,000 affected vehicles. All of these will require replacement of "Intermediate Shaft No. 2"; about 50% will require replacement of the "Sliding Yoke"; ten (10) will also require replacement of the "Intermediate (Extension) Shaft No. 1 and Bolt".

Its link at NHTSA is:

http://199.79.180.162/prepos/files/Artemis...06V188-4467.pdf

 

Had SSC 60C done last week. Mine was the 3rd one done by this dealer. On the way home, I noticed that when the car was going straight, the steering wheel was turned about 5 degrees to the left. Back to the dealer I go...

It's easy to blame this on human error, but as an engineer and QA guy, the real problems are usually one or more of the following: 1) problems with unclear procedures or diagrams, 2) unfamiliarity with a complex, unfamiliar task, 3) time pressures to complete the task, or 4) inadequate verification checks done at the completion of the procedure. A structured root cause analysis helps to reveal what went wrong.

Toyota has been great by monitoring this site. How about if we help them out by creating a survey for people who had SSC 60C done. List options as follows: No problems, steering wheel misaligned, other problems. This way, Toyota can get near real time feedback on the effectiveness of their campaign. Does somebody know how to build a survey on this site?

Despite this minor issue, I have been completely satisfied with my dealer (Bob Bridge Toyota in Renton WA).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(losaltosprius @ Jun 14 2006, 09:25 PM) [snapback]271530[/snapback]</div>

The way I read it, not all vehicles in the VIN range in this document are affected by the recall. You either wait to get your notice or call a dealer so they can check their updated list.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mojo40 @ Jun 14 2006, 11:29 PM) [snapback]271531[/snapback]</div>

Note that step 17 in the extremely detailed instructions that can be downloaded from NHTSA is "Confirm the Steering Gear Center Point Position." Step 31 is "Inspect that the Sterring Wheel is centered." Step 32 is "Repairs are completed."

Back to the dealer you go!

[NHTSA link:

http://199.79.180.162/prepos/files/Artemis...06V188-4467.pdf ]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(losaltosprius @ Jun 14 2006, 09:25 PM) [snapback]271530[/snapback]</div>

Hmmm....my VIN is within the KB20U 3000000-3129959 range, but I just called my local Toyota Dealership's service desk and he stated that my vehicle doesn't need the fix. BTW, the manufactured date was 12/05.

 

The recall letter from Toyota corporate is your official notice.

 

I got the letter in the mail this week too. It's at my closest dealer as we speak. Good to note that the installation of the new part could affect the alignment. I'll be sure to drive around the parking lot before I leave.

 

it affects the steering wheel alignment, but not the wheel alignment, just to clarify.